Music legend Herbie Hancock is making his return to Australia for the Melbourne International Jazz Festival as part of a national tour.

"He's the most influential musician in the world today, an absolute icon," festival director Michael Tortoni told AAP.

The tour starts in Sydney in October, followed by dates in Canberra and Brisbane, before headlining Jazz at the Bowl at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne and then concerts in Adelaide and Perth.

Hancock last performed in Australia in 2019 and at the age of 84, he may not do many more trips Down Under, said Tortoni.

He has transcended musical genres throughout seven decades in music - he performed Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 26 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the age of 11, and went on to become one of the world's top jazz musicians, joining the Miles Davis Quintet in 1963.

A decade later with his own band, The Headhunters, he recorded a self-titled album featuring the hit single Chameleon, which became the first jazz album ever to go platinum.

In 1983 he won the first of 14 Grammys with the electro-funk track Rockit, which climbed both the R&B and dance charts.

Over the years, Herbie Hancock has collaborated with the likes of Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Sting, Annie Lennox, Christina Aguilera and Paul Simon.

With some of Australia's best-known music festivals hitting the wall, the Melbourne International Jazz Festival is going strong, according to Tortoni, the founder of Bennett's Lane jazz club.

He puts that down to strong line-ups that audiences want to see.

"It's been amazing. We've been selling out the Bowl, touch wood, things keep going," he said.

Tickets go on sale Tuesday with the full festival program released in August.